U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, DO, delivers his party’s weekly national address

A colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve who has been deployed three times, U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, DO, R-Nev., delivered the Weekly Republican Address during Veterans Day weekend. Drawing on his experiences running the emergency services unit of a combat support hospital in western Iraq, Dr. Heck paid tribute to the men and woman of the military who risk and often sacrifice their lives for their country.

During the Nov. 12 address, Dr. Heck also called for better economic opportunities for returning veterans. “We owe it to our veterans to ensure that they come home to a strong economy, so that they can transition to civilian life and support their family with a good-paying job,” he said. He praised the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act of 2011, passed by the House of Representatives last month, which would provide educational and employment assistance to unemployed veterans.

“The 12.1% unemployment rate among veterans who have served since 9/11 is above the average unemployment rate in every state but my home state of Nevada, which has an unemployment rate of 13.4%,” Dr. Heck noted in a statement.

The only osteopathic physician in Congress, he is serving his first term as a representative of Nevada’s 3rd District.